Prayers for Peace Mark Saudi Pilgrimage

Published 7:00 pm, Thursday, February 13, 2003

Muslims from around the world prayed for peace and spoke out against U.S. plans for war before setting out for home Friday after their pilgrimage to Islam's holiest site.

More than 2 million Muslims this year visited the Grand Mosque during the annual pilgrimage, which ended Thursday. But many stayed an extra day to pray for peace.

"I prayed for all Muslims, especially our brothers in Palestine and Iraq, and I think all the pilgrims here did the same," Geochan Demir, a Turkish pilgrim, said after taking part in Friday's mass prayer service in a street outside Mecca's overflowing Grand Mosque.

Many Muslims regard U.S. threats to strike Iraq over its suspected weapons of mass destruction as a sign America opposes Islam.

"America wants to destroy Islamic nations, or why else does it want to attack Iraq over nuclear weapons when it doesn't do anything to Israel, which everybody in the world knows has such arms?" Demir said.

Wary of protests during this year's hajj, Saudi authorities dispatched thousands of security forces to places of ritual where the masses flocked.

On Thursday some 1,000 Iranian pilgrims marched peacefully and shouted "Death to America! Death to Israel!"

"America has been targeting Muslim states for many years, and it is supporting Israel, which is killing the Palestinian people," said Hasan Ahmadi, leader of the protesters.

This year's hajj was also marred by 14 pilgrims being trampled to death in a stampede Tuesday in Mina, just outside the holy city of Mecca.

The hajj, one of the world's largest religious gatherings, is required once in a lifetime for all able-bodied Muslims who can afford the trip. Islam, born in Mecca 14 centuries ago, now claims approximately 1.2 billion followers worldwide.